|   At What Point Do You Give Up? | maxximtl
Apr 7, 2003 8:37 PM | | Let me preface this by saying that I am by no means an audiophile. I do enjoy excellent sound however, and have come to know "good from bad" over the years.
I have been searching for a set of $800-ish speakers for my home system. I have auditioned the KEF Q5, Klipsch RF3-II's and just tonight the Infinity Kappa 200's.
In all honesty, I'd be happy with any of them. The Q5's are very smooth and warm. The Klipsch's are more in your face, but I got used to them after about 15 mins or so. The Infinity's absolutely blew my socks off, but they are pushing my budget just a bit too far. I am going to try to audition some Energy C-5's this week aswell (there aren't many dealers in my area.)
My question is, when do I know I've found the right ones? I like all of the different speakers I've auditioned for unique reasons. The Infinity's rated the highest on the "wow" factor, but then I looked at the pricetag and said WOW again. The KEF's didn't do anything spectacular, but that is why I liked them. Everything sounded the way I envisioned it should. I really noticed the horn tweeter on the RF-3's, but I wouldn't say it was bad. Unfortunetly, all three speakers were in different rooms, so it is very difficult to draw direct comparisons due to environment and equipment differences.
Should I just pick one and be happy with my choice, or do I need to keep working on this problem? I intentionally limited myself on choices just to save myself the agony of choosing from a group of 5-6 instead of 2-3.
What should I do now? |
| re: At What Point Do You Give Up? | RGA
Apr 7, 2003 10:04 PM | | No rush here. There is NOTHING at all wrong with liking a totally different sounding speaker. There is nothing WRONG with Klipsch. I'm oftened surprised at the flack Klipsch takes and I admit the company is more inconsistant that many others because IMO they try and make too many different sounding products...some very good, some rather horrible. The RF line is in the rather good camp IMO.
Horns are more in your face and offer the listener a very good ROCK speaker that gives you the club type sound. A good party speaker...but not just a party speaker like a Cerwin Vega, Klipsch still manages to project a smooth top end and a natural mid-band.
Have not heard Kef for years, so no comment and Energy is a good one to check out. I would also make sure you listen to the B&W 602S3 before you decide on anything. They are well within your price range and may impress the hell out of you. http://www.bwspeakers.com/ |
| Here's an idea...... | newbster
Apr 8, 2003 4:30 AM | | ......Magnepan offers their $550.00 MMG's factory direct. They use ribbons instead of dynamic drivers. There are some considerations however. The speakers need to be at least 2 feet from the rear wall, are extremely inefficient meaning they need a lot of power if you play your music LOUD, and they don't go really low in the bass department. I've noticed that with most speakers that I've listened to that even though they can play louder with less power I don't find myself listening loud. Maggies, as we call them, make me happy at low levels. Keep auditioning!!! |
| re: At What Point Do You Give Up? | midfiman
Apr 8, 2003 5:11 AM | | I think it's those speakers that you can listen to for an hour, or several hours, and then say "I still like them, I'm not tired of this sound, or it's not fatiguing my ears." |
| When you are ready to | RobotCzar
Apr 8, 2003 5:15 AM | | Auditioning speakers in a store is no guarantee that they will sound the same at home in your listening room. Will your retailer let you try any of them at home?
Also, have you check the specs and any reviews of these speakers? Good speakers shouldn't necessarily provide a wow factor in the store.
Finally, if they all pretty much pleased you, then why wouldn't you buy the cheapest and get to listening instead of mulling? Speaker buying is not an exact science, you must take a risk at some point, which is why a trial or good return policy is a good idea. |
| "happy with them" doesn't ...... | Jetsons
Apr 8, 2003 9:20 AM | | seem to sound all that emotional.:)
For me, is that the darn things just put a grin on my face that I just can't get rid of. I've had the pleasure to audition and seriously play with quite a few speakers. I could have lived with a few of them but only very, very few have generated that certain emotion that one doesn't easily forget.
I would suggest to keep on listening and don't be afraid to check speaskers out that are beyond your $ limit. The secondary market (places such as audiogon.com) is a great way to own speakers one could otherwise not have.
Jet |
| re: At What Point Do You Give Up? | Woochifer
Apr 8, 2003 11:53 AM | | If you intend to use your speakers in a home theatre configuration, you also need to factor in the quality of the matching center speaker, and to a lesser degree, the matching surrounds. A lot of higher end speaker companies still treat home theatre as an afterthought, and produce center and surround speakers that are notably inferior to their mains (not that they're a higher end company, but Bose for example has some of the worst center and surround speaker mismatches I've ever heard). so, just another wrinkle to throw into your confusion!
I would suggest that you use your A/B comparisons as a process of elimination, and then round up all your favorites for home auditions. Most independent dealers will let you borrow their demo models for home trial. When you eliminate the environmental factors, then you can more seriously differentiate between the speakers you're interested in. Take your time and have fun. It took me about 2 months of auditioning before I decided on the Paradigm Studio 40s. |
| re: At What Point Do You Give Up? | Mr Peabody
Apr 8, 2003 6:07 PM | | You have already received some good advice. I will second, doing the home audition, only way to know. Your room, equipment, music & no stress. I also believe you will know when you find the right one, I think you got close with the Kappa. I am a Dynaudio fan, so I will push my favorite brand as well, listen to the Audience 42's ($700. pr)or 52's ($900.pr). These are both bookshelf speakers, but I guarantee you won't find anything with better bass response. In my opinion, you won't find anything more accurate, even spending more money. |
| re: At What Point Do You Give Up? | maxximtl
Apr 8, 2003 7:35 PM | | Thanks for the replies guys. Today I took the plunge and got a set of JBL S310 II's. I listened to the 310's side by side with the Q5's and determined that for the money difference, the JBL's weren't that bad. I still liked the Q5's more, but the pocket book thought the 310's were the perfect fit. |
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